Base of Operations: Unrevealed; last seen on Earth in the deserts of Arizona; formerly mobile across at least three continents (Europe, North America, and ???); formerly a farmhouse and airfield near Hampton, Virginia

Extent of Education: High school graduate

First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes II#16 (September, 1968)

Powers/Abilities: The Phantom Eagle was an ordinary human with expert stunt piloting and aerial combat skills. He was an exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills, with athletic reflexes.

He flew a biplane (by some accounts a spad) of unspecified abilities,
decorated with an eagle pattern atop its upper wings.

As a ghost, his plane could fly through solid objects as desired. He presumably never needed to reload, etc.

History: (Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe#14 - Phantom Eagle entry) - Karl Kaufman was the son of a pair
of German immigrants, and grew up in the United States. At some point,
his parents returned to Germany, but he remained in the USA.

(Marvel Super-Heroes II#16 (fb)) - Growing up,
Karl had a rival with fellow teenager Rex Griffin, and both were
attracted to Paula Jackson.

After high school, Rex and Karl flew planes in a flying circus, but
while showing off for Paula, Rex struck Karl's plane and crashed, badly
injuring his leg. Rex was grounded, and eventually was engaged to
Paula. Karl tested the Thomas Morse Scout plane for the US Air Corps,
and was introduced to Major Jack Norris by Rex. Norris tried to enlist
Karl as a flyer in the likely event that the USA become involved in
World War I, but Karl was afraid that if he fought against Germany, his
parents would be made to suffer. To conceal his fears, he claimed that
the Air Corps couldn't offer him the money he wanted. In order to
protect his family, Karl created the costumed identity of the Phantom
Eagle so that he could take to the skies for the USA safely. Only his
friend Curly shared his secret.

(Thor Corps#3) <1916, September 7 - see comments>
- While flying over Germany, the Phantom Eagle encountered a squad of
late-20th century planes, hurled through time by the machinations of Demonstaff.

(Marvel Super-Heroes II#16) <1917, March 5>
- While on a test flight, the Phantom Eagle came upon a formation of
German Fokkers, and managed to outfight them. He discovered that they
had come from an enormous dirgible which had invaded the USA. Returning
to Curly, he sent word to Rex at the nearest base, and Rex assembled a
squad of fliers to intercept the dirgible, taking the cockpit of one of
the planes himself. The Phantom Eagle was annoyed when he found Rex in
the air, and took command of the US planes to attack the dirgible.
Landing on the dirgible, he planted explosives and managed to fight
past the Germans back to his plane and escape before the explosion.
While fleeing, he noticed that Rex's plane was going to crash, and he
threw Rex a rope from his plane. However, Rex cramped up due to his old
injury and slipped from the rope, falling to his death. At Rex's
funeral, Karl vowed that as the Phantom Eagle he would continue to
oppose Germany until he had gained his revenge.

(Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#19: Phantom Eagle) -
Downing a remarkable number of German planes, the Phantom Eagle became
known as perhaps the greatest aerial warrior of World War I.

(Incredible Hulk II#135) - The Phantom Eagle was
on a mission to destroy a giant German cannon when he encountered the
time-tossed Hulk, who had been tricked by Kang into thinking that if he
killed the Phantom Eagle, he could be rid of Bruce Banner. However,
when the Hulk was struck by German bullets he turned on them, and wound
up destroying the cannon. Before the Phantom Eagle could learn more
about the Hulk, he was sent back to his own time.

(Skaar:
King of the Savage Land#5 (fb) - BTS) - Phantom Eagle crashed in the
Savage Land. After 40 days, he was rescued by a British team. The
Antarctic German outpost was rooted out and the Eagle prepared to head
home. Unable to take his broken ship with him, he left behind his
journal with it as a curiosity for future explorers; he hoped his
biplane would fly again.

(Invaders I#7 (fb)) - In the latter days of the
war, the Phantom Eagle joined a team of fellow costumed heroes called
"Freedom's Five." His teammates included Union Jack, the Crimson
Cavalier, Sir Steel and the Silver Squire.

(Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Phantom Eagle) - The Freedom's
Five were instrumental in bringing about a number of significant
victories for the Allies during World War I.

(All-New
Invaders#12 (fb) - BTS) - Freedom's Five had an adventure, where Sir
Steel came at their opponents straight on, getting their attention and
drawing their fire, while the others took their opponents by surprise
from the flank.

(All-New
Invaders#12 (fb) - BTS) <October, 1917> - Phantom Eagle was
absent during a Freedom's Five meeting regarding the threat of Ursula
Frankenstein as he was overseeing maintenance on his plane.

(All-New
Invaders#12 (fb)) - Phantom Eagle returned in time to help Freedom's
Five, aided by Iron Fist (Orson Randall), oppose an invasion of the
Martian Masters including their tripod weapons. From his biplane, the
Eagle slew a trio of Masters as they closed in on Union Jack and the
Crimson Cavalier. Though surprised by the presence and appearance
of the aliens, he then looped his biplane around to shot repeatedly the
upper portion of one of the tripods -- and at the same time dodged the
tripod's fire -- while the others took out its legs; the tripod
shattered upon striking the ground. After a
group of high-tech weaponry-wielding men under Eben Stafford arrived
and attacked the remaining Martian Masters, the Masters vanished back
to Mars, taking one of these high-tech warriors with him (I'm not sure
whether this was supposed to be John Carter, or what...).

(Invaders I#7 / Vampires: Marvel Undead: Baron Blood entry) - Freedom's Five was often on Baron Blood’s trail, but always a few steps behind;
actual encounters proved rare, fleeting, and never when Union Jack
was present, until 1918, when Blood was sent to London to slay
senior British government and military leaders.

(Ghost Rider II#12 (fb) - BTS) - The Phantom
Eagle finally tried to get his parents out of Germany so he could
oppose the kaiser openly and erase the blot on his honor.

(Ghost Rider II#12 (fb)) - As Phantom Eagle led
his parents to his plane, Hermann von Reitberger came upon the scene
and shot the Phantom Eagle and his parents to death.

The last thing the Phantom Eagle heard was von Reitberger's laughter.

The Eagle's plane's fuel tanks exploded, leaving no trace of his plane or the three lives that had been extinguished. With no evidence of his death, there was no offical record of the Phantom Eagle's demise.

(Ghost
Rider II#12 (fb) - BTS) - The Phantom Eagle's ghost continued to pursue
von Reitberger through two wars and three comments, into the modern
day. Von Reitberger escaped the Phantom Eagle for years at a time and
even married, but the Phantom Eagle always found him again.

(Ghost Rider II#12) - In
the modern day, when the Phantom Eagle shot at von Reitberger, causing
him to crash his car in the Arizona desert, Ghost Rider (Johnny
Blaze) came upon the scence, thinking von Reitberger the victim,
and helped von Reitberger escape the plane's fire; Phantom Rider fired
at the pair as Ghost Rider put von Reitberger on his motorcycle. After
seeing Phantom Eagle fly his biplane through solid rock, Ghost Rider
hid von Reitberger in a cave until Phantom Eagle flew off.

Von Reitberger reinforced Blaze's belief by telling him a false tale of
their past battle and the Phantom Eagle's death and telling Blaze he
wanted to see his grandson one more time, after which he would give it
up and finally face the Eagle. When the Phantom Eagle came for von
Reitberger after he met up with his grandson, Johnny, he landed, and
the Ghost Rider confronted the Eagle, who revealed the truth. Even
upon learning the truth, Ghost Rider argued that von Reitberger had
been tortured for decades (see comments) and that was enough.

Nonetheless, as von Reitberger took to the air, the Phantom
Eagle went after him. Feeling von Reitberger's death was not a decision
the Eagle had a right to make, Ghost Rider made a jump at his plane,
but the Phantom Eagle turned his ship immaterial, and Ghost Rider
passed through it. However, upon seeing that Ghost Rider might then
fall to his doom, the Eagle flew back down, made his ship solid, and
caught Ghost Rider on his wing in mid air. However, in doing so, the
Eagle left himself vulnerable to von Reitberger, and he couldn't turn
immaterial or Ghost Rider would fall to seeming death.

As von Reitberger fired, Phantom Eagle dodged and then led von
Reitberger through aerial maneuvers that the aged German could not
match. Von Reitberger crashed into his grandson's hangar and died. With
von Reitberger gone, the Phantom Eagle's ghost flew off in the biplane
towards the moon.

Ghost Rider noted that the Eagle could go to his final rest, but hoped he had bad dreams.

(Ghost
Rider II#13) - The Phantom Eagle's ghost continued to fly off in his
biplane towards the shimmering moon, never too be seen again.

(Skaar:
King of the Savage Land#5 (fb) - BTS) - Phantom Eagle's ship and
journal were found by a "strange mountain man" who claimed/seemed to be
periodically entered by the original Phantom Eagle's spirit. The ship
was repaired and the man wore a uniform patterned after the Phantom
Eagle's.

(Skaar: King
of the Savage Land#5 (fb) - BTS) - After Ka-Zar collapsed atop a frozen
mountain after slaying a pteranodon, the man allegedly channeling the
Phantom Eagle and several others found him.

(Skaar:
King of the Savage Land#5 (fb) - BTS) - The man read to Ka-Zar from the
Phantom Eagle's journal, telling him how he had gained the biplane,
etc. After the others proclaimed that the spirit of the Phantom Eagle
had entered him again, this Eagle offered Ka-Zar his wings "and this
land's enemies death from above." Ka-Zar told him it would take more
than an old plane to win, but the Eagle assured him they had much more
than one plane.

(Skaar:
King of the Savage Land#4 - BTS) - Flying the biplane, this Phantom
Eagle joined Ka-Zar and other pteranodon-riding troops against the
Designer (who was possessing Shanna and had usurped Ka-Zar's rule of
the Savage Land) and his forces.

(Skaar:
King of the Savage Land#5 - BTS) - This Phantom Eagle continued this
fight. When Ka-Zar's pteranodon was wounded and began to descend, this
Phantom Eagle flew down and caught Ka-Zar on his wing.

Soon after, the Designer revived Umbu the Unliving, and when this
Phantom Eagle approached Umbu, the robot struck the biplane with its
hand. As the biplane descended with fire streaming from its tail,
Ka-Zar leapt off.

After
Skaar stopped Umbu, this Phantom Eagle was amongst those who chanted
for Skaar, who was proclaimed the new king of the Savage Land.

Comments: Created by Gary Friedrich and Herb Trimpe.

Ghost Rider II#12 identified
Karl Kaufman as a German-born American, but the Official Handbook of
the Marvel Universe#14 identified him as an American of German descent.
Considering that his parents were living in Germany in World War I, it
makes better sense for him to be German-born.

Also, where'd the OHOTMU get
that "brown" hair from? As you can see, he's clearly blond in Marvel
Super-Heroes II#16.

The date for the Phantom
Eagle's adventure in Thor Corps#3 doesn't quite work -- Kaufman was
still based in the USA in his 1917 adventure in his first appearance.
He wasn't supposed to be fighting overseas until after the USA entered
WWI (April 6, 1917).

Friedrich's setup in Marvel
Super-Heroes II#16 reminds me a lot of Marvel's western heroes. If it
had successfully launched a series, I expect it would have been a bit
like the Two-Gun Kid or Ghost Rider, with Curly in the Boom-Boom
Brown/Jaime Jacobs role, Paula as a Nancy Carter/Natalie Brooks, etc.

Examine the images
below...then, keeping in mind how late in Trimpe's career he took on
aspects of Rob Liefeld's style, tell me if you think Liefeld got his
infamous gritted teeth from Trimpe.

In Ghost Rider II#12, it is noted that it had been 60 years since
Kaufmann's death. That was true in 1975 (OK, it was 57, not 60), but
it's been another 40 years since that story. 60 years is a topical
reference, but having von Reitberger be like 125 years old, assuming he
was only 25 when he slew Kaufmann and his parents, is also problematic.
Perhaps' Kaufmann's ghost somehow/subconsciously/magically kept von
Reitberge from dying of old age until he could gain his vengeance in
combat.--Snood

Von
Reitberger reported this account of the Phantom Eagle's demise. This is
a lie in Reality-616...but is true in Reality-75612, it is true...The
Phantom Eagle's ghost challenged von Reitberger to
an aerial duel, and von Reitberger accepted. He succeeding in shooting
the Phantom Eagle down, and witnessed his "death" amidst the ruins of
his plane. Before "dying," the Phantom Eagle vowed that he would have
revenge upon von Reitberger. --Snood

How do you spell it?

In Marvel Super Heroes II#16, the Phantom Eagle's last name is
given first as Kaufmann (two 'n's at the end). The next time he's
referenced a few pages later, it's Kauffman (two 'f's in the middle,
one 'n'). Those are the only two references to his last name in his
first
appearance.

In all three of the 20th century Handbook series (original, Deluxe,
Master), it's Kaufman (no extra 'f's or 'n's).

The Ennis version (Reality-200111) spells it Kaufmann, just like the very first reference to him.

Editorial confirmed the Kaufmann spelling for both
Reality-616 and -200111 versions for the All-New All-Different Handbook
(2016)

--Snood

by Prime Eternal; updated/expanded by Snood

CLARIFICATIONS:Phantom Eagle has uncertain connection to: should not be confused with:

Phantom Eagle - an unidentified Savage Land man--Skaar: King of the Savage Land#4

Curly Anderson was Karl
Kaufman's assistant in his identity of the Phantom Eagle. Curly
performed all of the mechanical work on the Phantom Eagle's planes. He
kept a journal which contained all of his friend's secrets, and it was
eventually obtained in modern times by Joel von Reitberger, grandson of
Hermann von Reitberger.

Rex Griffin was Karl
Kaufman's friend, although as teenagers they sometimes fought each
other for the affections of Paula Jackson. As adults, Rex and Karl flew
together in a flying circus, but while showing off for Paula Rex hit
Karl's plane and crashed. Suffering a bad leg injury, Rex was grounded
from flying. This brought him closer to Paula, and they eventually
became engaged. Rex went to work behind a desk for the Air Corps under
Major Jack Norris, and tried to get the major to recruit Karl, to no
avail. When the Karl alerted Rex to the invasion fleet led by General
Heinrich von Ronstadt, Rex took command of a squadron, despite his
injury. The Phantom Eagle destroyed the dirgible, but Rex's plane was
damaged. The Phantom Eagle threw him a rope to bring him aboard his
plane, but Rex cramped up from his injury and slipped, falling to
death. At Rex's funeral, Karl vowed that he would have his revenge upon
Germany.

--Marvel Super-Heroes II#16 (16 (fb), 16

MAJOR JACK NORRIS

Jack Norris was an officer
in the Air Corps who attempted to enlist Karl Kaufman as a combat
pilot, but was refused because Kaufman wanted to protect his family. He
also served as Rex Griffin's superior, and attended Rex's funeral.

--Marvel Super-Heroes II#16 (16 (fb), 16

PAULA JACKSON

Paula Jackson was beloved
by both Rex Griffin and Karl Kaufman, and the two would sometimes fight
each other for the honor of taking her to a dance. When Rex was
grounded from flight, he and Paula became engaged, even as he joined
the Air Corps behind a desk. Paula saw Rex off as he went into combat
against the forces of General Heinrich von Ronstadt. After Rex's death,
she attended his funeral.